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Uses and ecology

Whitestar Potato, Ipomoea lacunosa

Human use of Ipomoea is threefold: First, most species have spectacular, colorful flowers and are often grown as ornamental plants, and a number of cultivars have been developed. Their deep flowers attract large Lepidoptera - especially Sphingidae such as the Pink-spotted Hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata) - or even hummingbirds.

Second, the genus includes food crops; the tubers of Sweet Potato (I. batatas) and the leaves of Water Spinach (I. aquatica) are commercially important food items and have been for millennia. The Sweet Potato is one of the Polynesian "canoe plants", transplanted by settlers on islands throughout the Pacific. Water Spinach is used all over eastern Asia and the warmer regions of the Americas as a key component of well-known dishes such as Canh chua rau muống (Mekong sour soup) or Callaloo; its numerous local names attest to its popularity. Other species are used on a smaller scale, e.g. the Whitestar Potato (I. lacunosa) traditionally eaten by some Native Americans like the Chiricahua Apaches, or the Australian Bush Potato (I. costata).

As medicine and entheogen

The third way humans use Ipomoea is due to these plants' content of medically and psychoactive compounds, mainly alkaloids. Some species are renowned for their properties in folk medicine and herbalism; for example Vera Cruz Jalap (I. jalapa) and Tampico Jalap (I. simulans) are used to produce jalap, a cathartic preparation accelerating the passage of stool. Kiribadu Ala (Giant Potato, I. mauritiana) is one of the many ingredients of chyawanprash, the ancient Ayurvedic tonic called "the elixir of life" for its wide-ranging properties.

Other species were and still are used as a potent entheogen. Seeds of Mexican Morning Glory (tlitliltzin, I. tricolor) were thus used by Aztecs and Zapotecs in shamanistic and priestlydivination rituals, and at least by the former also as a poison, to give the victim a "horror trip" (see also Aztec entheogenic complex). Beach Moonflower (I. violacea) was also used thus, and the cultivars called Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, touted today for their psychoactive properties, seem to represent an indeterminable assembly of hybrids of these two species.

Responsible for the entheogenic activity are probably ergoline derivatives (lysergamides). Ergine (LSA), isoergine, D-lysergic acid N-(α-hydroxyethyl)amide and lysergol have been isolated from I. tricolor, I. violacea and/or Purple Morning Glory (I. purpurea), but although these are often assumed to be the cause of the plants' effects, this is not supported by scientific studies which show that although psychoactive these compounds are not notably hallucinogenic.[citation needed]Alexander Shulgin in TiHKAL suggests that ergonovine is responsible instead, having verified psychoactive properties, though it is not unlikely that yet other undiscovered lysergamides are present in the seeds.

Though most often noted as a drug, the lysergamides are also of medical importance. Ergonovine enhances the action of oxytocin, used to still postpartum bleeding. Ergine induces drowsiness and a relaxed state and might be useful in treating anxiety disorder. Whether Ipomoea species are a useful source of these compounds remains to be determined. In any case, in some jurisdictions certain Ipomoea are regulated, e.g. by the Louisiana State Act 159 which bans cultivation of I. violacea except for ornamental purposes.

Ipomoea — Ip o*m[oe] a ([i^]p [ o]*m[=e] [.a]), n. [NL. Named, according to Linn[ae]us, from Gr. i ps, ipo s, a bindweed [which it is not], and o moios like. Gray.] (Bot.) A genus of twining plants with showy monopetalous flowers, including the morning… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

ipomoea — /ip euh mee euh, uy pay /, n. 1. any plant belonging to the genus Ipomoea, of the morning glory family, certain species of which are cultivated for their large, showy flowers. 2. the dried root of certain varieties of plants of this genus,… … Universalium